Does My Covid Vaccine Still Work? I Asked A GP If It's Time For A Booster
Before then, the 'Nimbus' strain was rapidly spreading.
In both cases, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that while they were 'variants under monitoring', the 'Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective' against the mutations.
They can help to prevent extreme symptoms and reduce the risk of people getting seriously ill, the WHO explained, even though both Stratus and Nimbus strains have mutated from the original virus.
But does that mean we should all be getting more Covid vaccines? Who needs to get them more often, given that their effects 'wane'?
HuffPost UK asked GP, Dr Suzanne Wylie, a medical adviser for IQdoctor, about who may need yearly vaccines.
'As with the flu vaccine, COVID vaccinations are now being tailored to the most prevalent strains circulating at the time,' Dr Wylie said.
'Currently, the general advice is that most people do not need regular COVID boosters unless they fall into higher-risk categories, such as those over 75, individuals with underlying health conditions, or those who are immunocompromised.'
This is different to 2024 when booster vaccines were given to everyone over 65.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said in a report that they made these changes because population-level immunity has improved, thanks to exposure to the virus and/or vaccines (this combination is called 'hybrid immunity').
As a result, they said, they chose to focus on people most at risk, including 'the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.'
For healthy younger adults, Dr Wylie added, 'routine vaccination is not usually necessary more than once a year, if at all, unless advised otherwise during periods of high transmission or in response to a new variant of concern.'
The NHS say they will contact you if you're eligible for a vaccine. This may be the case if you're over 75, are immunocompromised, and/or live in a care home for adults.
Dr Wylie says that 'Vaccines, including updated COVID boosters, are designed to provide protection against the most common or concerning strains each season.'
'While no vaccine offers complete immunity,' she added, 'they significantly reduce the risk of severe illness, hospitalisation, and complications.'
But newer variants, like the Stratus strain, can 'sometimes partially evade prior immunity, which is why updated vaccines may be offered if there's evidence of increased severity or spread.'
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) monitor Covid risk levels and will help determine if a wider rollout becomes necessary.
'For now,' Dr Wylie told HuffPost UK, 'for most younger, healthy individuals, annual or less frequent vaccination is generally sufficient.'
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